Asia Business Travel Market 2003 Packs in High-Powered Conference Sessions

Asia Business Travel Market (ABTM) is gearing for its inaugural show from 3-5 September in Shanghai with a high-powered conference segment that brings together key players and personalities of the business travel community.

David Radcliffe, the Chief Executive Officer of Business Travel International (BTI), the world’s largest joint-venture corporate travel management company, will deliver the Opening Address on "Business Travel - A New Resurgence: China, leading a new wave".

“David is truly a visionary and a leader in the business travel industry and we are thrilled to have him as the opening speaker,” said ABTM Event Director, Andrew Lee. “I’m sure David’s thoughts presented in his entertaining style, will shed new light and perspectives on an industry that is facing unique challenges as well as the dynamism that China will bring into the marketplace.”

Joining Radcliffe in a forum thereafter is a panel of distinguished experts which include Michael Molloy, Director - Internal Client Services Group of Credit Suisse First Boston, Cameron Ong, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Ascott Group, Patrick Lai, Vice President - North Asia of Abacus International, Mike Bezer, Vice President - Sales & Account Management of Carlson Wagonlit Travel, and Wong Soon Hwa, Managing Director of Hertz Asia & Japan as well as the current Chairman of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Singapore Chapter. The forum will be moderated by N Gunalan, Managing Editor of TravelWeekly. The opening address and forum will be part of the Keynote Session cum Opening Ceremony of ABTM on September 3.

On September 4, The Business Traveller/ABTM conference will feature the fundamentals of business travel management presented by the Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE) through a general session and two breakout sessions. The panelists for the general session include David Pettigrew, Regional Director of BTI and Patrick Lai, Vice President - North Asia, Abacus International. Recognising that many Chinese companies may still be in their infancy when it comes to corporate travel management, Conference Sponsor ACTE will deliver one of the breakout sessions as a “starter-kit’ for beginners.

Senior Global Travel Manager of Alliente Inc. Sim Beng Khoon, who will present this in Mandarin, said: “Always pay heed to the fundamentals of any travel programme. At stake is the success of the programme and a possible painful experience for all stakeholders including travellers, suppliers and the travel specialists themselves if these are not observed.”

In another session Teo Hwee Ming, Product Line Manager, Travel & Hospitality, Purchasing Services, Philips Electronics China Group and Stuart Hunter, Managing Director of Trondent Development Corp will address the subject of online travel management tools among corporations in China. The conference is organised by Business Traveller and Reed Travel Exhibitions.

The hotel sponsor for The Business Traveller/ABTM conference is Shangri-La Hotels & Resorts.

OAG will present a half-day workshop on September 4 for trade visitors and buyers in both English and Mandarin on combining print and electronic resources  to maximise efficiencies in travel management. Christina Spykerman, Regional Director - Circulation Sales & Marketing of OAG will speak on how incorporating the right travel management tools will result in cost savings. The Mandarin session  will be presented by Carolyn Leow, Regional Sales Manager of OAG.

Asia Business Travel Market 2003, the exhibition cum conference targeting the  business travel segment in China, will be held from 3-5 September at the Grand Hyatt Shanghai.